The Suzerain-class is Starfleet's second major carrier type of starship, next to the Invincible-class, designed to carry squadrons of starfighters into combat scenarios well as overpower heavily armed enemy starships in one-on-one encounters.

Contents

Overview

The Suzerain-class is Starfleet's primary carrier-type starship, designed to carry squadrons of tactical fighters into combat scenarios well as overpower heavily armed enemy starships in one-on-one encounters. The Suzerain’s hull configuration is comparable to other established Starfleet vessels. The Suzerain-class is currently one of the few Starfleet vessels that has enough firepower for any combat role yet also carries the full capabilities of an exploratory starship. The Suzerain is equipped with Starfleet's most advanced weapon and defense
systems, and she is also one of Starfleet's fastest large ships in operation. The ship is also designed with full flag facilities and these ships usually serve as the flagships of the secondary task forces that comprise a full fleet. The ship carries a crew of 3,200 Starfleet personnel.

Onboard tactical systems

The Suzerain-class is larger than the Dauntless-class, but is tactically rated below it. It is rated above the Sovereign-classBattle Cruiser. The comparable weakness of this ship class to the Dauntless-class is offset by the collective firepower of its fighter complement. The Suzerain-class carries a heavy torpedo payload. The phaser and torpedo firepower of the Suzerain-class Fleet Carrier makes her a powerful force in ship-to-ship combat. The ship’s weaponry systems consist of the most advanced phaser and torpedo systems available.

Offensive capabilities

The Suzerain features 10 5-tube torpedo launchers as her primary weapons.

The vessel also features ten 10 micro-torpedo launchers that face directly out at five (5) each to port and starboard, a unique feature in a Starfleet vessel. The micro-torpedoes arranged in a 'phalanx' array along the port and starboard sides of the ship allow a high rate of fire that can cripple any enemy starship. With the 'broadside' arrangement of the 'phalanx' the Suzerain can defend itself against strike fighters defending the fixed facilities while maintaining its focus on destroying its primary target.

Defensive capabilities

The shield system of the Suzerain-class is likewise among the strongest on any Starfleet ship, with regenerative and multiphasic features and increased effectiveness against both high energy tractor beams and phased polaron particles, measures clearly aimed at the Borg and Dominion respectively. Under normal operation, the shield modulation frequencies are controlled by the ship's computer system, which continually evaluates incoming weapons fire and automatically re-modulates the shields to provide the most effective possible defense. It is thought that this system can also prevent beam-through by Borg transporter technology.

The Suzerain-class boasts of a hull that is made of overlapping and regenerative ablative hull armor that allows it to take many direct hits from enemy fire even with minimal shields.

In addition, the class has been equipped with two armor generators that can deploy a thick layer made of ablative armor plating along the contours of the entire ship when activated. This can be done through the armor emitters that are installed at different points on the ship's hulls.

This triple redundancy feature of shields and armor on the Suzerain-class makes it practically impervious to Borg and Dominion firepower. However, due to the huge energy needed to activate both the shields and the generated armor coating at the same time, the Suzerain can only use these simultaneously for a maximum of one hour. As a result, the shields and the generated armor coating are used alternately when the ship is in battle.

Carrier features

Suzerain-class Fleet Carriers are outfitted with two full-fly through flight decks, each three decks high and one huge hangar deck below these in the Carrier Section which runs the entire length of the ship.

Flag facilities / command center

Another special feature of the Suzerain-class are the full flag facilities. Suzerain-class starships serve as the flagships of the fleets of Starfleet. A primary flag facility onboard is the Flag Bridge, which is found at the middle portion of the Main Bridge.

Primary operational control of the task force, the ship and the fighter wings of the ship is provided by the command center, located at the top of the primary hull. The Command Center is ovoid in shape from aft to forward and is divided into three parts: the Navigation Bridge, the Flight Control Bridge, and the Flag Bridge.

Navigation Bridge

The Navigation Bridge is primarily where the ship can be commanded. It directly supervised all primary mission operations and coordinated all departmental activities. It is located at the front most portion of the Command Center

At the Navigation Bridge’s aft section is a large bank of control consoles that were programmable for a multitude of functions and data readout screens. Center of that area is the master systems display. All relevant ship information (such as damage, power distribution, etc.) could be displayed on this cutaway image of the vessel. Above this whole section is the forward handrail of the Flag Bridge, separating the latter from the Navigation Bridge.

The central area of the navigation bridge provided seating and information displays for the ship’s Commanding Officer and two command level officers. The command chair is slightly raised from the rest of the bridge officers to the height of the surrounding level. At the end of the armrests of the command chair were control panels with miniaturized status displays which could be used to override the basic operation of the starship. The two officer seats were also equipped with retractable and fully programmable consoles for a variety of uses.

Directly aft of this area, integrated in the handrail encircling the aft section of the central command area are the three consoles of the tactical and security station.

Directly fore of the central command area is theConn Station manned by the Conn Officer, who faced the main viewer. To the port side of the Conn Officer, also facing the main view screen, is the Operations Station manned by the Operations Officer, which is identical in size and design to the helm station.

At the very front of the bridge chamber is a large view screen. When the screen is not active, a standard bulkhead is present. On the floor between the view screen and the helm control station is a holo communicator.

Aft and to the port-side of the command area is an elevated platform on which the three consoles of the engineering station were located. This had a smaller cutaway diagram of the vessel, which show all engineering-relevant data and showed warp fields and engine output.

Aft and to the starboard of the command area is another elevated platform on which the three consoles of the science station were located.

To the aft of both science and engineering stations were two identical command consoles that could be operated to perform more bridge duties. Aft of these are the passageways that lead to the Flag Bridge and the Flight Control Bridge beyond.

Flag Bridge

The Flag Bridge is the nerve center of the task force led by the Suzerain-class. It is where coordination between task force elements and planning for task force movements are done, whether in squadron formation, in mission group formation or in strike group formation. It is located in the middle of the Command Center, raised 1.5 meters from the Navigation Bridge and Flight Control Bridge.

At the aft wall of the flag bridge is the master systems display of the whole Task Force.

The central area of the flag bridge provided space for the fleet operations table, a large rectangular console which can display above it a three-dimensional image of any region in space where ships of the task force are located. It also serves as a holo-communicator.

Directly fore of the fleet operations table is the seat of the ship’s flag officer. The flag chair can rotate to the Navigation Bridge and the flag officer can command the ship from there.

Directly aft of the fleet operations table is the seat of the fleet operations officer who is responsible for monitoring and working the fleet operations table.

To the portside of the central area are two fleet control consoles, one intelligence console, and one mission ops console. Fleet control consoles convey the admiral’s orders to the ships of the task force and receive messages intended for the admiral.

To the starboard of the central are another two fleet control consoles, one long-range sensor console, and one mission ops console.

Flight Control Bridge

The Flight Control Bridge is where the ship’s complement of fighters and auxiliary crafts are directed. It directly coordinates the movement of the ship’s fighters and support crafts in mission. It is located aft of the Command Center and is of the same level as the Navigation Bridge. The Flight Control Bridge is supported by at least two Flight Deck Control Centers located at the flight decks.

At the aft wall of the Flight Control Bridge is the flight deck and hangar bay systems displays. On either side are control consoles for hangar bay operations.

The central area of the Flight Control Bridge provide seating and a console for the ship’s Fighter Group Command Officer, the flight ops command chair.

Directly fore of the central area were the four mission control consoles facing the flight ops viewer, at two to portside and two to starboard.

Aft and to the portside are two of four flight deck control consoles.

Aft and to the starboard are the other two flight deck control consoles.

At the front of the flight control bridge and behind the master systems display of the Flag Bridge is a holographic wall screen which could display fighter and support craft locations and movements in a stellar region in three dimension.

The three bridges of the Command Center are connected to each other by passageways on the port and starboard side to allow for easy access between the three parts of the Center. On the port-side of the Command Center are three ready rooms: one for the flag officer, one for the ship's Executive Officer and one for the Fighter Group Command Officer. On the starboard side of the Command Center is the briefing lounge which features a long table and seating for the senior staff of the three bridges.

Propulsion systems

The propulsion system onboard ships of this class are state-of-the-art. The class boasts of the best navigational sensors, and among the highest rated top speed of any Starfleet vessel.

Impulse drive

The impulse drive system of the Suzerain-class is the most sophisticated model in production. Its oversized impulse engines are equipped with impulse thrusters that provide superb sub-light maneuvering speed, especially considering her size. With this design, along with the new retro-thrusters, and uprated structural integrity fields give the ship maneuverability equal to the size of a Steamrunner-class vessel.

Warp drive

The Suzerain’s matter-antimatter reaction assembly warp core is among the most powerful in Starfleet. The warp core spanned 20 decks just behind the center line of the primary hull. Its warp drive featured a quadri-cyclic input manifold and is designed to operate for up to 5 years before refueling. The ship's warp engines are based on a new concept in warp drive design, one which eliminates subspace distortion effects inherent to standard warp drives. The reaction chamber is equipped with a compositor, which allowed recrystallization of dilithium. The deuterium tanks were above the core, while antimatter storage pods surrounded the base of the core.

A secondary class 9 warp core is located aft of the primary warp core and spans 7 decks and brought online when the primary warp core is offline. This allows the ship to travel at a cruising speed of warp 6 while the primary warp core is offline.

With a normal cruise speed of Warp 8.5, a maximum cruise speed of Warp 9.85 and a top speed of Warp 9.985 sustainable for up to twelve (12) hours, Suzerain-class starships are among of the fastest vessels in Starfleet. Equipped with the enhanced warp drive of the Khronnians, the Suzerain can now easily attain and indefinitely sustain a maximum cruise speed of warp 9.985.

Quantum slipstream drive

The Suzerain-class is one of a few ship classes that was built large enough to be equipped with a Quantum Slipstream Drive in addition to its primary and secondary warp drives. However, it could only operate the slipstream drive for a short period at a time before shutting down for safety reasons, though in that period of time - usually about four hours - the starship could cross thousands of light years of space. After a one week recharging and re-calibration period, they could be activated again for another "sprint". This very high speed capability is intended to allow the Suzerain-class and its task force complement to deploy as rapidly as possible to potential trouble spots in distant locations in a much shorter period of time.

Computer systems

The Suzerain-class starship is equipped with some of the most advanced computer systems of the time. The ship carries four independent computer cores. These multiple cores provided redundancy in case one of the cores is damaged or destroyed. The main computer processor is capable of simultaneous access to 47 million data channels, of transluminal processing at 575 trillion calculations per nanosecond, and having operational temperature margins from 10° to 1790° Kelvin. The bio-neural circuitry sped up the computer's data functions and improved overall performance.

Redundant bio-neural / isolinear circuitry

The ship’s size allow it to be fitted with both bio-neural gel pack and isolinear computer interfaces and circuitry. The bio-neural circuitry enables high-speed information transfers and the newest sensor equipment with efficiency levels that exceed that of the Galaxy-class by 100%. The isolinear circuitry provides for redundancy, allowing the ship’s computer systems to continue operating in the event that the bio-neural circuitry are affected by viruses and infectious agents encountered in deep space.

Science features

Also designed to go for extensive periods on deep space exploratory duties, the Suzerain-class is equipped with cutting-edge scientific equipment.

It also serves as a testbed for experimental science technology not yet available in most other classes. State of the art computers give it unprecedented storage capacity, access speed, and rigorous conditioning. Combined with a wide array of sensors on the dorsal superstructure and covering a large amount of the exposed surface, makes the Suzerain-class a premier ship of the line for Starfleet’s scientific endeavors.

Astrometrics & stellar cartography

The Suzerain also boasts of a large Astrometrics and Stellar Cartography Department, which is not only dedicated to the science and practice of charting space, but could also be used for long-range communications purposes or even, as a workplace for easy access to sensor information. It features a holotank which allows a person to gain a 360° panoramic view of an area using holographic technology. There were a series of control panels to manipulate the screen. The area below the screen and in front of the control panels could be used as a stage during presentations. Astrometrics also include 8 additional workstations on the side walls.

Science labs

There are 25 science labs on the Suzerain-class. 15 are non-specific labs are easily modified for various scientific endeavors including Bio/Chem, and Physics tests and/or experiments. 10 are specific labs on Planetary Development, Geologic Studies, Languages/Archaeology, XT (extra-terrestrial) analysis, Eugenics, Biologics Laboratories, Atmospheric Physics experiments, and High-Energy Physics. There are also five smaller labs which can be configured for astrophysics/astrometrics and stellar cartography studies. Science Department crews rotate often among these laboratories. The Chief Science Officer's office is attached to this bank of labs.

Medical facilities

There are 3 sickbay facilities located onboard the Suzerain-class. The primary facility has two intensive-care wards, two medical laboratories, 4 standard biobeds and the Chief Medical Officer's office. The secondary and flight crew facilities have two dedicated surgery suites, a physical therapy facility, a null-gravy therapy ward, and 12 standard biobeds each. Also pursuant to new Medical Protocols, all Primary Medical Facilities are equipped with holo-emitters for the usage of the Emergency Medical Hologram System.

Crew facilities

The Suzerain-class boasts of standard crew quarters and recreation facilities.

Accommodations

Because of its combat oriented features, crew berthing facilities on this ship class were comparable to that of an Intrepid-class. Quarters in general were smaller than those of other large Federation vessels, such as the Sovereign-class.

With emphasis towards the tactical and fighter carrier systems being the priority in the vessel designers' minds, ensigns, non-commissioned officers and crewmen had to share their quarters with at least one other crewmate during normal times of operation. Each shared cabin for crewmen had four stacked bunks, one replicator port, a small living area, and a twin bathroom. Each shared cabin for ensigns and non-commissioned officers had two small bedrooms, one replicator port, a living area, and a twin bathroom.

Officers of the rank lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant are given their own quarters, which included a living area with work station, a small bedroom and a bathroom. Senior officers’ quarters are larger than junior officers’ quarters and lined the edge of the saucer section and usually have windows.

Mess lounges

There are 8 large mess halls and 4 smaller mess lounges onboard that are equipped with full bar and kitchen facilities manned by mess officers, with a private captain's dining room just behind the mess lounge located at the forward section of deck 2, all served by windows that offered a spectacular view of space outside. Eating accommodations are provided by a slew of tables and chairs. The larger mess halls can occupy 100 diners at a time, while the mess lounges can occupy 32 diners at a time. Each mess area has a very relaxed and congenial air about it. At the head of the hall were open slots that served as dispensers for the replicators. The mass-use replicators are able to produce other food and non-alcoholic beverages with an extensive recipe listing from over two hundred worlds for the crew to enjoy in this relaxed social setting. The most notable accessory to the lounge is a modest-sized bar area, offering a wide selection of synthetic and alcoholic. To conserve replicator rations, the mess halls’ menu is supplemented with food stocks of vegetables cooked by the mess officers from the airponics bay and hydroponics bay, along with food obtained from trading and scouting missions. In addition, the mess lounges can double as large meeting areas that could be used to conduct crew briefings and mission profiles. A tall screen panel located on one of the walls can be used as a visual aid to display graphics.

Holodecks & other facilities

12 standard holodeck facilities and 24 holosuites are scattered all over the ship. The facilities of 6 gyms on the Suzerain are not overly spacious, but are well outfitted. The facilities include variable weight machines, isometric machines, and calisthenic machines and a sparring ring configured for Anbo-Jytsu but easily modified and/or expanded for other practices. All equipment is equipped with the ability to variate gravity for those species that are physically biased toward higher or lower than standard gravity.

Companion ships

Docked in hangar bays located underneath the sensor array superstructure are two Defiant-class Tactical Frigates In a large hangar bay above the aft bay doors of the ship’s main flight decks are four Valiant class Tactical Corvettes. These six ships are deployed to serve as “companion” ships whenever the Suzerain is forced to go on solitary special missions without its permanent escort complement or attached task force. Each companion ship has an assigned detail from the Suzerain’s main crew.

Task force flagship role

Suzerain-class starships are designed to serve as flagships of the largest task force formations of Starfleet. As such, she is accompanied by fifty-four (54) combat oriented starships during task force formations. Suzerain-class starships are also among three ship class in Starfleet with a permanently attached escort complement of one (1) Akira-class Heavy Cruiser, one (1) Prometheus-class Assault Cruiser, one (1) Intrepid-class Light Cruiser, two (2) Steamrunner-class Medium Cruisers, two (2) Defiant-class Tactical Frigates, and two (2) Saber-class Fast Frigates.

Vanguard Command

Only 6 vessels of the Suzerain-class have been built. All six are often deployed as secondary platforms of the three major fleets of Starfleet to "hot spots" were Starfleet Command is expecting a fight.

There are three Suzerain-class Fleet Carriers assigned to the Vanguard Fleet, and are designated as flagships of the second, third and fourth task force formations, respectively.